At 28-years-old, Daniel Fry holds a position in the Community Relations & Business Development division at Fry-Wagner Moving & Storage. Established in 1908, Fry-Wagner is a fourth-generation Fry Family owned and operated full-service relocation company. Fry-Wagner has state-of-the-art facilities in St. Louis, Missouri, Kansas City, Kansas, and Springfield, Missouri. People and businesses entrust Fry-Wagner with their worldly possessions; to handle and transport them safely and securely to their new destination. Having successfully experienced over 100 years of serving customers on the move, Fry-Wagner prides themselves in their superior service – delivered at the local, national, and global level.
Five Questions with Daniel Fry
Title aside, what would you say it is that you do in your current position?
In my tenure with Fry-Wagner, I have worked under many great leaders for over ten years,
getting my start part-time during high school, cleaning bathrooms and sweeping the warehouse
floors. I have worked just about division in the company, aside from the financial departments.
My current role in business development is focused on providing new and existing clients with
moving solutions, be it commercial, residential, logistics, or corporate relocation services. As I
continue to move forward in my career here, my family will have been in business for five generations. It is said that only 3% of family-owned businesses make it to the fourth generation. There are not any statistics for fifth-generation family-owned businesses because it is so rare. We have something special going on here and I’m proud to be a part of it.
How do you see your experience in Next Leader Now making you a better leader going forward?
The Next Leader Now program allowed me to explore and develop perspectives that I otherwise wouldn’t have known existed. Many of my communication skills were developed in this program, which will help me to better understand my coworkers and customers and their communication styles; something that without this program I never would’ve known was possible. The truth of the matter is there is not a one-size-fits-all communication method. In our industry, we are constantly interacting with various types of personalities. This warrants the importance of being cognizant of how you communicate with different types of people.
What would you say is the secret sauce of Next Leader Now and why?
I would say the secret sauce of the Next Leader Now program is the relationship that I developed with my coach. In this program, Solutions 21 urges everyone to take advantage of the resource they have in their coach. I was encouraged to exchange dialogue and constantly communicate with my coach, whether it was to trade ideas, share strategies, or provide project updates. My Solutions 21 coach played an important role in my success with this program.
Do you think that your peers would be more likely to pursue career opportunities with an organization that is offering Next Leader Now? Why?
I think so. A lot of people, regardless of their age, want to go somewhere where they can grow. A lot of companies in today’s workforce don’t understand a simple philosophy: Provide your employee with development opportunities and your company will grow. Next Leader Now has allowed me to develop new ideas through participation in this program. I believe my peers would feel the same if they were given the opportunity.
If you could bust one myth about Millennials (born 1980-2000), what would it be?
The myth I would bust is that we are a lazy generation. This myth actually offends me. We are a very intelligent generation and have come up with a way to work smarter, not easier. While we continue to develop new ideas and figure out ways to get things done that have never been thought of before, this doesn’t make us lazy.